by Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

by Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Red 2 is one of those sequels that's easier to follow if you've seen the original but more entertaining if you haven't.

Derivative and more bombastic than its 2010 predecessor, which was a minor hit at $90 million, the follow-up (* * ½ out of four; rated PG-13; opens Friday nationwide) lacks the novelty of the first, and the visual punch line of geezers with guns can get old fast.

Still, when polished action is mixed with a cast that includes Oscar winners such as Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins, the result is passable summer entertainment - an Expendables with people who can act.

Red 2 wastes little time rushing audiences back to the characters who either survived or just appeared to die in the first film, which informed us that RED stands for "Retired, Extremely Dangerous."

Things don't look so perilous this time around for Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), a former black-ops CIA agent who retired for the quiet life with civilian and assassin wannabe Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker). The two are spending a dull day at Costco when they bump into ex-agent Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), who is fond of feigning his demise.

The first half-hour is less a reintroduction than a setup for a flimsy premise: Our graying agents must beat villains, hit men and government agents to "Nightshade," a Cold War weapon of unimaginable destruction. Directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest, Fun With Dick and Jane), Red 2 is in such a rush to get the characters into a globe-trotting chase that it doesn't take the time, even by sequel standards, to flesh out its heroes.

Instead, they're thrust into madcap vignettes. Want to break into the Kremlin? Just throw on some collar patches and crack a hole in the wall of a pizzeria bathroom next door. Need inside an insane asylum? Put Mirren in a crown and have her pretend to be the queen of England.

That last scene, though, is what makes Red 2 palatable popcorn fare. It could have been wince-inducing, but Mirren clearly is having fun parodying her more serious characters.

Similarly, the cast seems to genuinely enjoy the age-busting material, as well as working with each other. Parker and Catherine Zeta-Jones, in particular, are terrific as competing women who know how to break a heart as well as a nose.

It all nearly comes undone in the third act as our heroes and antagonists engage in increasingly ludicrous combat scenes.

But credit Willis and Malkovich for keeping a grinning game face throughout. The two have the good-natured chemistry of buddy cops who have seen their share of doughnut shops. They may qualify for the senior discount movie ticket, but when it comes to action films, they still have one in the chamber.